Paid In Full
By Pastor Jim May
There are a lot of preachers in the land today that are preaching doctrines that are not only unscriptural but can be quite dangerous to your faith if we aren’t careful to check them out according to the Word of God. Paul to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
One of the teachings that we hear quite often is that Jesus went to hell after his death on the cross as a part of the price of our redemption. This message is being taught over television and radio by a lot of people. They quote scripture in the message and the scriptures that are quoted will seem to confirm what they are teaching when you first read them. But I think that we should look at this message and these passages of scripture and rightly divide the Word of Truth to see what the Bible is really saying.
The message preached by some well-known teachers is based upon several scriptures. Now I’m not here to condemn their preaching or teaching, only to attempt to show you what really is being said.
Joyce Meyer wrote these words on page 37 of one of her booklets titled, “The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make” in 1991, that, ‘You cannot go to heaven unless you believe with all your heart that Jesus took your place in hell!’ Is this teaching wrong? I think that your decision must be based upon what the Bible says, but that you must also study that Word to understand the meaning.
Do we believe that Jesus spent time in the Lake of Fire after he was crucified? Of course we don’t believe that!
Matthew 25:41, "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:" That Lake of Fire wasn’t created for man, neither was it created to further punish Jesus as our substitute. It was created for the devil and the fallen angels. Men and women will go there for sure, but only because they chose not to accept the salvation that Jesus offered. They will go there to face eternal punishment for their rebellion, the same sin that Satan and his angels committed.
If you will read with me in the Book of John concerning the events at the crucifixion, there is something there that you should take note of.
John 19:28-30, "After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost."
What did Jesus mean when he said, “It is Finished”? Did he simply mean that his physical suffering was over? Did he mean that the price that he paid for our salvation was paid for only in part and that there must be more suffering over the next three days while his body was in the grave? Did his soul and spirit have to suffer more before the price of redemption could be fully paid?
The point here is simply this: What paid for your salvation? Was it the beatings in Pilate’s hall? Was it the nails in his hands and feet? Was it the crown of thorns on his head? What was it?
It was the innocent blood that He shed and nothing else. The suffering that he did was all part of what was needed for that blood to flow, to wash away our sin.
All of the sufferings of Christ served a purpose, in fulfilling of the Law on our behalf, or for our healing, but the only thing that washes our sin away is his shed blood and nothing else. When Jesus said, “It is finished”, he meant that the price of our redemption was paid in full. He had suffered and was going to surrender the “ghost” or give up his life willingly, but the price of redemption for all mankind was forever paid, once and for all time.
There would be no more suffering in hell required. Satan had already tormented Jesus in the Garden. He had already tempted and tried Jesus in the desert at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. There was nothing more that Satan could do. He had done his best to stop the plan of God, to destroy the Son of God and keep the eternal souls of men locked away in a prison of sin for eternity, but Jesus had won and the war was over.
There is a scripture where Jesus speaks to John and says this in Revelation 1:18, "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."
What are these keys? Are they literal keys like you would carry on a key chain? No, these “keys” are representative of the power and authority that is held over hell and death. Until Jesus paid the price on Calvary for our redemption, Satan held the power and authority over hell and death, and over the grave. God held all authority and power over the souls of men at the beginning, but when Adam fell in the Garden and sin entered into the world, the power and authority over death, hell and the grave was stolen by the devil. He held a legal claim on the souls of all men because of that sin of rebellion. Every one of us became a part of Satan’s kingdom by default. You didn’t have to choose it; your citizenship of hell was inherited at the moment you were conceived. From the day you were born your eternal destiny was sealed and you were bound for hell, that Lake of Fire, because you belonged to the devil as his legal property.
When Jesus died on the cross, shedding his blood, the purchase price for redeeming your soul from Satan’s claim, was forever paid in full. At the moment that Jesus said, “It is finished”, and allowed his spirit to leave his body, Satan lost the power and authority over death, hell and the grave forever. Though death still reigns and the grave is still waiting for each of us, and the Lake of Fire will burn forever and grows larger all the time, their power and authority over you has been destroyed by the power of the blood of Christ. The price has been paid, but it is up to each man, woman and child to accept that payment. It doesn’t apply automatically for God wants us to have the ability to choose whether we will stay in bondage to sin, or become bound to him in love. We must choose our master, and in choosing our master, we will also choose our eternal destiny.
It’s a no-brainer choice. Choose to continue to serve the devil and the Lake of Fire will be your eternal prison, or choose the Lord Jesus Christ, serve him and allow his blood to wash away your sin through repentance of your old life, and be adopted as a child of God and Heaven will be your eternal resting place. It never ceases to amaze me how blind Satan keeps us to this simple truth. Mankind would rather choose to stay locked in sin than to be set free to live a life of uncommon freedom in Christ.
So what about this doctrine of Jesus going to hell after his death on the cross? We know that his body was in the tomb for three days before he arose from the dead. By that resurrection, we are also able to live again. He is the “firstfruits” of the dead, begin raised again to a glorified body, giving us the power to do the same thing. We shall all rise again just as he did, to a glorified body, but only if we accept the price of redemption through the blood of Christ and apply it to our heart and life before we go into that grave.
Peter was preaching on the Day of Pentecost and said in Acts 2:31, "He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption." At first glance this scripture seems to confirm that at some point during the 3 days that Jesus was dead, his soul did go to hell, but what does that mean? Did Jesus really go to the Lake of Fire?
Matthew 12:40 says, "For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Is that where hell is? Is it in the center of the earth? Did Jesus spend three days and nights in Hell?
Paul also spoke these words concerning Jesus’ death and resurrection in Ephesians 4:7-10, "But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things)"
What does Paul mean when he says that Jesus first descended into the lower parts of the earth, before he ascended into Heaven? Does that mean that Jesus went to hell for three days and suffered? What does the scripture mean that says he led “captivity captive” and “gave gifts” to mankind?
I think that before we answer these questions we must understand what is meant by the word “hell”. You see, this word is nearly always translated as “hell” in our Bible but the original words given in Hebrew and Greek are not always the same words with the same meanings in each instance. I’m no Greek or Hebrew scholar. I don’t know those languages, but I have done some research and studying and I believe I can give at least some basic understanding of what each of the words translated as “hell” really mean.
In the Hebrew Scriptures, the word used to described the realm of the dead is "Sheol." It simply means the "place of the dead" or the "place of departed souls/spirits." The New Testament Greek word that is used for hell is "Hades," which also refers to “the place of the dead.”
Scriptures in the New Testament indicate that Sheol, or Hades, is a temporary place, where souls are kept as they await the final resurrection and judgment. In Revelation, John saw the events where Sheol and Hades were emptied and the Lake of Fire was being filled with lost souls.
Revelation 20:11-15, "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
Sheol, or Hades, is a realm of the underworld that had two divisions. (Matthew 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27-31), These two divisions were where the faithful and the unfaithful were kept until Jesus died upon the cross. The grave is only the resting place for the body, but not for the soul.
The place where souls went who were faithful and who looked forward to the coming of the Messiah as their redeemer was called “Paradise” or “Abraham’s bosom.” Those who died without faith in God are kept in the Lake of Fire until they will brought forth to face judgment and then be cast back into the flames forever.
These two divisions were separated by a “great gulf” so that there could be no crossing over. According to what I have read in the scriptures, those in Paradise, or Abraham’s Bosom, could not see over into the region where the lost were in punishment, but those in the flames could see into Abraham’s Bosom, making their punishment even worse.
Read with me in Luke 16:19-26, "There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence."
When Jesus died, he descended into that region known as Paradise or Abraham’s Bosom. There he set free all of the souls of the Old Testament times who had believed in his coming and who who had looked forward in faith to the day of their redemption. They were held as captives in a place of rest because their price for freedom had not been paid in full. The sacrifices of bulls and lambs had not been enough. The blood of bulls and goats couldn’t save them. Only the blood of Jesus would be sufficient to buy their eternal salvation and set them free.
Jesus took the believers that were in Paradise with Him and that portion of Sheol is no longer existent. (Many still teach that this is called Purgatory, but it no longer is there.) Souls that die in Christ are immediately transported to be in Heaven while those who die without Christ are immediately transported to the Lake of Fire to await final judgment.
Jesus did go to hell? Yes he did. He went to Sheol, to Paradise, or to Abraham’s Bosom, but NO, He did not go into the Lake of Fire to be punished or to suffer anymore.
Another Greek word for Hell is “Gehenna” and occurs 12 times in the King James Version. It is the permanent place for destruction of the "... soul and body ..." as described in Matthew 10:28). It is a place of "... fire that never shall be quenched" according to Mark 9:45.
In most of the references, it is clear that those who enter Gehenna will do so in their bodies, not merely as bodiless souls. For this to happen, they must be cast in after the resurrection of the damned at the Great White Throne Judgment. Gehenna is the Lake of Fire described in Revelation 19 and 20. After the judgment, Satan, the False Prophet, all of the fallen angels and every soul of man that rebelled against God will be cast in together to be there eternally.
The future destruction of the wicked is symbolized by the Valley of Hinnom to which Gehenna refers. It is a place south of Jerusalem where the bodies of dead animals and rubbish were taken to be burned. The Valley of Hinnom was also the site of much human sacrifice to the pagan god Molech (2 Kings 23:10, 2 Chronicles 28:3, 33:6, Jeremiah 32:35). The fire burned constantly in the valley because the things that were thrown away as garbage was ever being cast into the fire.
So, in answer to the question of whether Jesus went to hell after he died, we know that he did not go to the hell that most of us picture when we use that word. He went into the regions of the underworld, to Paradise and there he set the faithful souls free to take them back to Heaven. The price for your redemption was paid at Calvary by the shed blood of Jesus.
Through his death Jesus paid your debt of sin in full. It is his wonderful gift to you and to all who will believe on him and accept him as their Lord and Savior, and trust in his blood for their redemption.
There is no other way. Jesus paid the price in full and I’m so glad that he did. He now holds the authority and power over death, hell and the grave. Satan is at his feet and the battle is won.
I am so glad for the promises and victory that we are given through the blood of Jesus.
1 Corinthians 15:51-58 says, "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."
